The present invention relates to reinforcement hardware for attaching a doorjamb bracket associated with a conventional door closure system to a doorjamb and, more particularly, to several embodiments of an assembly which either overlays or mates with the doorjamb bracket so as to reinforce and improve the attachment thereof to a doorjamb, the doorjamb bracket being securely held between the present assembly and the doorjamb.
A common door closure system for use in conjunction with a wide variety of different doors including screen and storm doors typically includes a piston assembly of some type having a piston, a piston rod, and a cylindrical piston tube associated therewith as well as a hold-open bracket, a doorjamb bracket for attachment to a doorjamb, and an adjustable door bracket for attachment to the door. The doorjamb bracket is generally manufactured from a single piece of metal or other suitable material which is stamped into a distinct and functional configuration. The doorjamb bracket attaches to the doorjamb and provides surface clearance for the door closure system away from the surface of the door and the doorjamb. The doorjamb bracket includes a base having a plurality of fastener screw holes associated therewith for attaching the bracket to the doorjamb and an arm structure adapted for receiving and holding one end of the piston rod via a pivot fastener pin.
It is a common occurrence that the forces and pressure demands exerted on the doorjamb bracket over time due to the repeated opening and closing of the door will eventually weaken its attachment to the doorjamb causing the doorjamb bracket to become loosened or detached from the doorjamb. The screws or other fasteners holding the doorjamb bracket to the doorjamb are loosened due to the fact that loads exerted thereagainst cause these fasteners to enlarge the screw holes in the doorjamb, oftentimes even splintering or splitting the wooden doorjamb.
A loosened doorjamb bracket can be fixed by replacing the original fasteners with larger fasteners, but this method of repair is usually only temporary because the fasteners eventually wear even larger holes in the doorjamb. Another temporary solution is to move the position and location of the bracket on the doorjamb. The amount of distance that the bracket can be moved, however, is severely limited by both the dimensions of the doorjamb and due to the fact that the bracket must line up with the balance of the door closure system.
Since loosening of the doorjamb bracket is a common problem, it is desirable to provide hardware for reinforcing the attachment of the doorjamb bracket to the doorjamb, preferably before damage is done, but which attachment is effective even after the fastener holes have been enlarged or completely splintered out of the wood. There are several manufacturers of door closure systems and the various doorjamb brackets associated with such various systems all vary in some fashion one from the other. To be commercially practical, taking into consideration the economy of stocking at the retail level, any reinforcement hardware should be adaptable for use with most of the doorjamb brackets on the market today.
Previous attempts at solving the problems set forth above have been made as shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,829,098 and 4,648,151. These previous devices, however, suffer from one or more of the following disadvantages: (1) the conventional doorjamb bracket is secured on top of the reinforcement bracket rather than between the reinforcement bracket and the doorjamb, leading to less stability and a greater likelihood that the doorjamb bracket will become detached from the reinforcement bracket; (2) the screws or other fasteners associated with these reinforcement devices do not pass through both the reinforcement plate and the doorjamb bracket, leading to less stability in the system as a whole and a greater likelihood that the entire assembly will become detached from the doorjamb; and (3) the known reinforcement devices are not universally adaptable for use with doorjamb brackets of varying configurations.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.
A conventional door closure system includes a piston, a piston rod, a cylindrical piston tube, and a doorjamb bracket having a base with an arm structure mounted thereto, the arm being adapted for attachment to one end portion of the piston rod. The base typically includes a relatively flat upper surface and a plurality of fastener holes adaptable for receiving suitable fasteners for attaching the doorjamb bracket to a doorjamb. The present invention serves as a reinforcement mechanism for attaching the doorjamb bracket to a doorjamb and its use substantially prevents the doorjamb bracket from being loosened or splintering out of the doorjamb. The present assembly is adapted to fit most doorjamb brackets and can be used with top, bottom or middle mounted door closure systems.
One embodiment of the present hardware includes a relatively flat reinforcement plate having a pocket or chambered portion associated therewith adapted for receipt of the base of the doorjamb bracket. The plate member includes an aperture formed in the pocket portion through which the arm of the doorjamb bracket passes, and further includes elongated openings likewise formed in the pocket portion so as to register with the fastener holes associated with a typical doorjamb bracket for attaching the reinforcement plate and the doorjamb bracket simultaneously to the doorjamb. The plate member also includes a plurality of holes in its unchambered portion flanking the aperture through which the doorjamb bracket arm passes for receiving additional fasteners to attach the reinforcement plate directly to the doorjamb. In use, forces applied to the fastener screws attaching the present plate member and the doorjamb bracket to the doorjamb are distributed over other portions of the plate member and to the additional fastener screws located in the remainder of the plate member thereby reducing the stresses and loads exerted on the doorjamb bracket itself.
Another embodiment of the present invention includes a two-piece bracket assembly instead of the one-piece reinforcement plate described above. The two-piece embodiment does not require the use of a defined aperture for receiving the arm of the doorjamb bracket, but instead, merely flanks and overlays at least a portion of the doorjamb bracket base on opposite sides thereof to achieve attachment. The two-piece bracket assembly provides greater flexibility and adaptability in mating with the wide variety of different doorjamb brackets presently in use.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the following detailed specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.